


Tinsel and Mistletoe

by Miya_Morana



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Big family, Christmas, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Minor Acxa/Veronica (Voltron), Past Allura/Lance (Voltron), Post-Canon, kissing under the mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:27:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28260897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miya_Morana/pseuds/Miya_Morana
Summary: The whole family spills out on the porch to watch the approaching car come to a stop next to Marco’s beat-up old Jeep. Lance barely spares a glance to Veronica still fiddling with something behind the wheel, because all he can see is the boy climbing out of the passenger seat.Veronica brings an extra guest home for Christmas. Lance is more than happy to see Keith again.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 110





	Tinsel and Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently I'm writing VLD fic now. I'd blame this on my friend Melissa but this one really is all my own fault. I just wanted my boys to kiss under the mistletoe.

The sun is peeking through the curtains, the single ray of pale morning light landing right on his eyelid. Lance grabs the edge of his bedsheet and drags it over his face, smothering the light and silently cursing his past self for not properly drawing the curtains shut. 

He knows it’s futile. He’s awake now, he might as well get up. But his bed is comfortable and his room is quiet and safe. He takes a deep breath. The bedsheet tickles his nose, making him sneeze, and he pushes it back down, blinks into the sunlight.

Ugh, _fine_.

With a sigh, Lance sits up, stretches, then walks to his window to properly open the curtains. Outside, he can see his niece and nephew, already up and full of the energy children can only muster this early while on holidays, running around after a particularly plump chicken. A small smile makes its way across Lance’s face as he watches Nadia dive down and miss Fat Gretel by at least two feet. She glares at the bird, then at her brother when he says something Lance can’t hear. 

Lance shakes his head and, after another deep breath, grabs fresh clothes and heads for the bathroom. It’s blessedly free, which is not a small feat given the amount of people already in this household. Luis showed up two days ago with his wife and the kids, and Marco arrived yesterday with their grandparents. Add to it the permanent residents of the farm (Lance, his sister Rachel and their parents), and it already feels like the house is at full capacity. 

Which it isn’t, because they’re still missing Veronica and her “surprise guest”, which they all know is code for either boyfriend or girlfriend. There have been sibling bets, and Lance really hopes he wins, because he hates doing the dishes.

He finishes shaving, then lets his fingertips brush over the soft skin of the marks Allura left him. It’s been long enough that he’s no longer surprised to see them there, that his heart doesn’t clench anymore with grief. 

“I miss you,” he breathes out, and it’s still true, but the edge of it has dulled. He wonders if he should feel guilty about that. 

There’s a heavy knock on the door, and Marco pushes his way past him as soon as the door is opened.

“Fine, fine, I’m done!” Lance leaves his brother in the bathroom and heads downstairs. 

The living room has been invaded by cardboard boxes and Luis and Lisa are already in the middle of sorting out the artificial Christmas tree.

“I thought we were waiting for Veronica to arrive before putting up the decorations?”

“We are,” Luis says, clipsing green branches into the realistic-looking trunk. “But we’re not letting her touch this tree, or she’ll insist on giving it a ‘fun shape’ again. You know how she is.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Lance still remembers the absolute monstrosity their sister had put together the previous year. In retrospect, he thinks she was trying to make him laugh, but Lance’s grief had still been too sharp back then. He had just pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled about weird sisters staying weird.

Lance is finally pouring himself a cup of coffee when Rachel rushes into the kitchen, grabs his elbow and proceeds to wordlessly drag him towards the front door. It’s a good thing he still has great reflexes and steady hands or he’d have stained his Christmas tee-shirt. Cuba is too warm for Christmas sweaters.

The whole family spills out on the porch to watch the approaching car come to a stop next to Marco’s beat-up old Jeep. Lance barely spares a glance to Veronica still fiddling with something behind the wheel, because all he can see is the boy climbing out of the passenger seat.

His stomach plummets, and not just because he’s lost the bet.

“Oh,” he says, softly enough that he hopes no one hears it.

Keith catches his eyes and gives him a soft smile and small wave, but Lance’s brain is still stalling. He knew the Blade had been working closely with the Garrison lately, but he hadn’t thought this was a possibility. 

He should have, he thinks, as he forces himself to smile and wave back. Veronica has great taste, and Keith has grown even more attractive with time, which is really unfair by the way. The morning sun is playing in Keith’s hair, giving it a slight reddish glow, and Lance’s throat tightens. He’s been in touch with Keith, they all have been keeping touch in spite of being scattered around, but vid-screens do not do this boy justice.

He still can’t believe he’s here with Veronica. When had _that_ happened? Lance tears his eyes (with difficulty) from where Keith is grabbing a duffle bag out of the car trunk, and finds his sister. Who’s walking towards them with her arm entwined with Acxa’s.

Wait, what?

“Everyone, this is my girlfriend Acxa. It’s her first Christmas so let’s make it special okay? Oh, and I hope no one minds that I brought a stray.” She jabs her thumb towards Keith, who groans and rolls his eyes before giving a shy wave hello.

There’s a lot of jostling and animated talking as everyone introduces themselves, and Keith looks a little overwhelmed when Luis wraps him in a big, Hunk-like hug. Lance leans back against the doorframe, sips his coffee, tries to ignore the huge sense of relief he’s feeling.

Obviously it’s just that it would have been weird if Veronica had been dating his old teammate and leader, right? 

_Yeah, right_ , he thinks, watching Keith’s soft smile as he shakes his abelito's hand politely only to be tugged into another hug. His face is priceless.

The warmth in Lance’s chest is purely from the coffee he’s drinking, obviously.

“Alright everyone,” his mom finally cuts in. “We’ll let these three setlle in, then we can finally put up the decorations, yes? Lance, your friend can stay in your room. I think we still have a camping bed in the attic.”

“Um, y-yeah, sure,” Lance sputters, fighting down the stupid blush threatening to color his cheeks. “Follow me?” he tells Keith, and it sounds more like a question than anything.

Keith nods and follows him inside. Behind them, the rest of the family is slowly getting back in, but they are still assailing Acxa and Veronica with questions, so no one follows them upstairs yet.

“I’m sorry for barging in into your home like that,” Keith mutters as they reach the door to Lance’s room. “Your sister can be a little terrifying when she’s decided something.”

“Yeah,” Lance agrees, smiling fondly. He turns to look at Keith. “How come you’re not at Shiro’s?”

“Curtis finally managed to get enough time off for them to go on that honeymoon,” Keith grins, his smile giving Lance a small heart attack.

“Oh, good,” he smiles back. “Here you go,” he adds, opening his door and moving to make some room on his desk for Keith to put his things. “Excuse the mess, I was _not_ expecting this. I’ll be right back with the camping bed.”

Keith hums absentmindedly, looking around at the books on the shelves and the pictures pinned on a large board taking up most of one wall. It’s photos of friends and family, some of them dating back from when he was a kid, others much more recent. He examines a printed screencap of a group call from a few months ago, when all of them had managed to be there. 

Lance recalls exactly what it looks like: Pidge is looking serious, sitting cross-legged on a bed, Hunk is mid-chew, which is hilarious, Shiro is in his garden, making a face because he has the sun in his eyes, and Keith is laughing as Kosmo is attempting to lick his face.

Keith smiles, touching the image with his fingertips. Lance realizes belatedly that he’s staring, but it’s not his fault his brain is having difficulty catching up to the fact that Keith is here, in his bedroom, in his parents’ house in Cuba. He shakes his head and forces himself to tear his eyes off.

There is indeed one last camping bed in the attic, the other two having been set up in Luis’ room for Silvio and Nadia. Lance also grabs bedsheets and all the pillows he can find, because the only thing less comfortable than a camping bed is a cold, hard floor, and Keith helps him set it up right next to Lance’s bed, the only place where there’s enough space for it in the room.

“Hey, where’s Kosmo?” Lance asks as he throws Keith another pillow.

“With my mom and Kolivan. They’re on a diplomatic mission on Oladareen, and apparently most nobles there have those dog-like creatures as a mark of status, so we figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea for them to take him. Why are you smiling like that?”

“You called her ‘mom’,” Lance explains. “I remember when you always talked about her as Krolia.” _It’s cute_ , he thinks, but doesn’t say.

“I’ve been calling her mom for a while.” Keith rolls his eyes, but there’s a soft smile on his lips.

They are interrupted by Silvio and Nadia barging into the room and grabbing at their sleeves.

“Uncle Lance, come ooooon,” Silvio whines, “abuelita says we can’t start without you two!”

“Alright, alright, we’re coming,” Lance laughs, letting his nephew drag him out of the room. 

Behind him he hears Nadia demand a piggyback ride. Keith chuckles softly, and when Lance looks back he can see his niece, who is really getting too old for this kind of thing, sitting proudly on Keith’s shoulders, Keith’s hands holding her legs firmly in place. He quickly looks away before he dies from a cuteness overdose.

They are greeted downstairs by a chorus of cheers, and soon the whole household descends into semi-organized chaos as fairy lights and tinsel and various ornaments go up all over the place. At some point, as Lance and Keith are carefully hanging glass icicles along the side of the stairs railing, Nadia runs up to them again and tugs on Keith’s sleeve. Keith crouches down, eyebrow raised, and Nadia wraps a small red garland around his neck, giggles, and runs away.

“Somebody liiiikes you,” Lance sing-songs, and grins when Keith bluses slightly.

“She’s a _child_ , Lance,” he says, rolling his eyes and getting back up.

“What, you never had crushes as a kid?” Lance teases.

“Not… really?” Keith grumbles, looking down at the tinsel hanging on his chest. He pokes at it with a finger, reminding Lance somewhat of a cat poking at a new toy. “I don’t think I had any crush until Sh…”

He cuts off abruptly, eyes snapping back to Lance, wide and panicked. _Wait._

“Keeeiiith?” Lance asks, fighting down a grin. “Did you have a crush on Shiro?”

“I did not say that!” Keith bites.

“Oh but you did!” Lance stops fighting it, grinning widely at his now furiously blushing friend.

“I was fourteen, okay?” Keith whines, hiding his face in his hands, “Fourteen, and he was all kind and handsome and the only person giving me the time of day. It was just a dumb crush and it didn’t mean anything!”

“Dude, relax,” Lance tells him, putting a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “No one can blame you. I had a crush on Shiro and I didn’t even know him. Heck, I’m pretty sure _Allura_ had a crush on Shiro at some point. The man is just too pretty.”

“You… what?” Keith drops his hand to look at Lance, blinking. His cheeks are still faintly pink which is just criminal, if you ask Lance.

“You, um, you don’t still have a crush on him, right?”

Keith shakes his head, laughing a little. “God no, he’s like a brother to me. Has been for a very long time.” 

He starts unwrapping the tinsel from his neck, but Lance puts a hand on his to stop him.

“Keep it,” he smiles. “Red suits you. Plus it matches your cheeks.”

“Lance!” Keith growls, punching his shoulder, but there’s no strength behind the gesture and Lance just laughs. “I do not have to put up with this. I’m going to help your sister now.”

Keith storms off towards Rachel, offering to carry her box, and they head outside to put up lights on the porch. Lance watches them with a fond smile.

“So,” Veronica asks, poking his shoulder, “I take it you’re not mad at me for inviting him over?”

“Why would I be mad? Keith is my friend, of course I’m happy he’s here with us rather than all alone on Christmas!”

“Uh-hu,” Veronica says, readjusting her glasses.

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Lance,” she smirks, “don’t play dumb with me.”

“Why, afraid you’d win?” He sticks his tongue out at her. “By the way, you should go rescue your girlfriend before Marco has her completely drunk on abuelita’s eggnog.”

Veronica sighs, shakes her head at him, then walks over to Acxa and very gently pries the cup out of her hands. Lance watches for a moment, noticing how Acxa seems to mellow a little when Veronica puts a hand on her hip, the obvious tension in her back lessening and her eyes becoming softer. Veronica beams at her, and Lance is glad that his sister seems so happy.

A little while later, he spots Rachel walking back inside with an empty box. Dodging expertly his sister-in-law running after her children, he approaches her. Rachel smiles at him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“He’s outside,” she tells him before Lance asks. “I think he needed a break from the chaos. He’s probably thirsty?” she suggests, pushing him towards the kitchen.

Lance has the best sisters, he thinks, opening a few cupboards to put together the McClain special.

He finds Keith sitting on the bench by the door. There are fairy lights all over the porch, but it’s still the afternoon and the sun won’t be set for a while so they aren’t turned on yet. Lance sits down next to Keith and hands him one of the cups he’s carrying.

“Hot chocolate?” Keith asks, raising an eyebrow. “It’s at least seventy-five degrees.”

“Yup,” Lance says, popping the P. “But it’s Christmas, or close enough, so it’s tradition. By the way, you’ll want to steer clear from abuelita’s eggnog, it’s basically pure alcohol.”

“Rachel mentioned that,” Keith smiles, wrapping his hands around his cup.

Lance takes a sip of his drink, catches Keith looking at him with a fond expression, and has to look away before he starts blushing.

“So, what were you thinking about?” he asks, feeling the need to fill the silence. 

“Allura, actually,” Keith replies softly, and Lance looks at him again, surprised. “I was thinking she’d be happy to see you smile again.”

Keith is smiling at him, his eyes soft and warm, and Lance’s breath catches in his throat.

“What… what do you mean?”

“For a long time, when you smiled, it didn’t quite reach your eyes. But today you really look happy, surrounded by your family. She would have liked that.”

Lance sighs. “Sometimes I feel guilty for being happy even though she’s gone,” he confesses, barely more than a whisper. 

“Lance,” Keith says, putting his hand on Lance’s wrist. “She wouldn’t want that. She loved you. And when you love someone, all you want is for him to be happy.” He’s looking at him so seriously, so earnestly. “She’d want you to be happy.”

“I…” Lance starts, not sure what to say. Keith’s face is so close to his own, Lance feels himself lean a little closer. Suddenly Keith blushes and turns his head away, letting go of Lance’s wrist and bringing his cup to his lips as if to busy himself.

“Oh, it’s spicy,” he breathes out, surprised.

“Mmm,” Lance smiles. “Like it?”

“Yeah,” Keith smiles, still not looking at Lance.

Lance takes a sip of his own cup to settle his nerves, wondering if he’s reading Keith’s reactions properly or if it’s all just wishful thinking and Keith being an awkward human being. Half-alien. Whatever. He sighs.

“Thank you,” he says. “Deep down I know, that she’d want me to, you know, move on. But I think I really needed to hear it.”

Tentatively, he puts his hand on Keith’s thigh. Keith tenses, breath hitching, then takes another sip of his hot chocolate, smiling around the brim of the cup. He lets his hand rest on top of Lance’s. Lance turns his hand so it is palm up, and Keith entwines their fingers. His eyes dart to Lance’s face, quick, before settling on the farm sprawling in front of them. He’s smiling still, his cheeks a bright pink that Lance kind of wants to brush his fingers against. Or his lips.

Instead, he squeezes Keith’s hand and turns to look at the farm too. A fat chicken is sitting on a low wall, and he guesses the kids never did manage to catch her. Gretel is whily, so it’s not surprising. Lance smiles in his own chocolate, pressing his shoulder against Keith’s. 

The warmth in his chest is absolutely not due to his drink.

Eventually, when they have both emptied their cups, Keith turns his head to look at him.

“We should head back?” he asks, sounding hesitant.

Lance smiles at him, nods briefly. Keith slowly gets up, readjusting the red tinsel still wrapped around his neck. He pulls Lance up to his feet and they walk to the door. Keith’s eyes drift to where he’s still holding Lance’s hand, then to Lance’s face. He’s still blushing, but doesn’t let go of it. 

Neither does Lance.

They walk back in, and Keith lets out a small gasp as he takes in the living room. It had still been a chaotic work in progress when he’d stepped out with Rachel, but now all the storing boxes have been moved back to the attic, and the place looks like a Christmas catalogue, between the fairy lights, the garlands, the icicles and the beautiful tree, under which a few presents have already been deposited.

“Your family really goes all out,” Keith comments. There’s laughter and a little bit of wonder in his voice.

“Yeah, that’s just how we do everything,” he says with pride.

“I’m not surprised,” Keith smiles at him.

“Hey, Lance!” Veronica calls out from the sofa where she’s sitting with an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders. She grins. “Look up.”

Lance does.

“Oh,” Keith breathes out next to him.

Oh indeed. They had stopped underneath a sprig of mistletoe. Lance looks at Keith, raising an eyebrow. A challenge. Keith smirks, leans in, and presses a firm kiss to Lance’s cheek. He looks far too amused and proud of himself.

“Really Keith?” Lance says, trying to sound reproachful. “That’s the best you can do? Pretty lame as far as mistletoe kisses go.”

“Think you can do better?” Keith goads him, a playful look in his eyes.

“I know I can,” Lance smiles.

He leans closer, slow enough to make his intent clear and to give Keith time to pull away. Keith is smiling, eyes drifting to Lance’s lips then back up. When their noses brush against each other he closes his eyes, sighing softly against Lance’s lips. 

Keith’s lips are softer than he expected, pressing gently back against his. Moving softly as Lance tilts his head to find a better angle. Keith’s free hand finds Lance’s waist and pulls him closer, and Lance’s lips part in surprise. Keith takes advantage of that, his tongue darting in briefly, but he keeps the kiss light and playful. Lance feels like he’s drowning.

There’s a loud wolf whistle that has both of them jumping and parting. Lance just might have forgotten about their audience, and judging by the way Keith is burying his face against Lance’s shoulder, he’s not the only one. He presses a quick kiss to Keith’s hair, which is _incredibly soft_ , then turns to face his siblings.

Veronica’s face reminds him of Pidge when one of her theories has been proven correct: all smug and proud. Acxa is hard to read, but has an eyebrow raised and is looking more at Keith than at Lance, which, fair. Luis is clutching Lisa’s hand and they are both smiling so widely you’d think they’d just won the lottery. Marco is laughing, and Lance is 100% sure he’s the one who whistled at them. Rachel’s smile, however, is fond as she shakes her head.

“Come on you lot,” she says, addressing the room. “Dinner’s ready.” And she disappears into the kitchen.

She must have relayed what happened, because when Lance and Keith enter the kitchen Keith is pulled into a hug by Lance’s mom. Lance is pretty sure he wasn’t meant to hear her mutter “You be good to my boy.”

“Yes ma’am,” Keith replies, tensing up and looking pleadingly at Lance for help. 

Lance smiles. “Come on mamá, let him breathe.”

She lets Keith go, and smiles at Lance with so much affection it almost makes him tear up.

Dinner is loud, as always with so many people around a single table, and Lance insists on Keith trying everything, promising that Christmas dinner will be even better. Because he won the bet, what with Veronica indeed bringing home a girlfriend, Lance doesn’t have to do the dishes so he can drag Keith to his room as soon as dinner is over. 

He feels like a teenager when the door closes and he looks at Keith nervously. “Hey,” he breathes.

“Hey,” Keith smiles softly.

“So…” Lance trails off, very eloquently.

“So,” Keith agrees, stepping closer.

“Are you gonna repeat everything I say?” Lance huffs.

“Depends on what you say.” Keith presses his forehead against Lance’s. He takes a deep breath, sighs against Lance’s lips. “Is this really happening?” he asks softly.

“It really is,” Lance replies in a whisper. “Unless you don’t…”

Keith huffs, amused and amazed. “Oh, I do,” he assures him in this same low, soft voice that is making Lance shiver. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a ridiculous amount of time.”

“Keith…” 

Lance grabs Keith’s collar and a handful of tinsel and pulls him closer. The space between their lips is reduced to nothing, and Keith grabs Lance's waist again, Lance’s arms winding around Keith’s shoulder, one of his hands plunging into Keith’s soft hair. It’s longer than it used to be. Lance loves it.

The kiss starts soft and slow like before, but soon Lance parts his lips, inviting Keith to explore his mouth. Keith sighs Lance’s name against his lips, then deepens the kiss, teasing, playful, until Lance, frustrated, nips at Keith’s bottom lip. Keith growls, a sound that seems to reverberate in Lance’s spine, and pushes Lance’s back against the door, proceeding to kiss Lance silly. He is forceful and determined and lighting Lance’s whole body on fire.

Lance’s lips are swollen when they finally part. Keith brushes his cheek against Lance’s, his hot breath tickling Lance’s jaw and ear, his hands clutching Lance’s waist. At some point, they made their way beneath Lance’s tee-shirt.

“I can’t believe I’m making out with you in my bedroom while my whole family is downstairs,” Lance giggles, and is happy to hear Keith’s huff of amusement. He takes Keith’s face between his hands, moving his head so he can look at him. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Lance…” Keith breathes out, blushing again. “You can’t just _say_ things like that.”

“Oh but I can. And I will. You are beautiful. Gorgeous. So fucking hot.” 

“So you just want me for my body, is that it?” Keith smirks.

Lance has to swallow and wrestle his dirty mind from the places that comment has immediately sent it to. He shakes his head.

“Keith I… I _like_ you. I like the fire with which you do everything, and your quiet determination, and the sound of your laughter. I… I want to be with you. If you’ll have me.”

Keith kisses him again. Just lips brushing against lips.

“I like you too,” he says, softly, against Lance’s lips. “I like you so much.”

“I know you won’t stay in Cuba,” Lance sighs. “I know your work is important, and you wouldn’t be you if you just… stopped. But do you think we could make this… make _us_ work anyway?”

“I would really like to try.”


End file.
